


The Adventures of the Yellow Rose.

by FaxModem1



Category: Crimson Skies
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-20
Updated: 2013-12-20
Packaged: 2018-01-05 07:35:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1091288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaxModem1/pseuds/FaxModem1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Sam Turner gets a recounting of what his pilots did while trying to make it to Austin in time for a contract.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - a quick history

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pts/gifts).



Due to the splintering and rapid destruction of the United States, it was now a nation again, something it hadn’t been since 1845. This all changed after the Great War. Due to the prohibition that started in the 1920s, which increased the amount of organized crime and corruption nationwide because of the majority of people choosing to continue drinking, even if that meant going to a speakeasy or acquiring through bootlegging. The following action was less trst in the FBI and police, as they were the ones enforcing this ridiculous law, all due to the unconnected politicians in Washington D.C. There were calls for repealing of the law, but Congress kept it in place, further damaging the public perception of the nation’s legitimacy. This alone would not have spelled doom for the United States, onset of the Great Depression after Black Tuesday in 1929; the United States was a wreck and a ruin due to Hoover’s policy of non-interference. These two combined hit the nation and the federal government wasn’t helping anyone, it was instead tasking its states to help with its recovery. A sudden outbreak of influenza that swept the countryside was the final straw for the governor of Texas. The Spanish Flu from the previous decades were in the minds of all it’s citizens. Better to hide out in their homes, and seal up their borders then for the flu to ravage their populace.  
That’s when it happened. The State of Texas seceded, and became the Republic of Texas once again. Texas, due to its size and population, had a sizable economy to keep the new nation going, along with a sizable population as a workforce, plenty of land for farming for simple foodstuffs for survival, along with making textile products for exports, and most crucial of all, the Gulf of Mexico to ensure shipping through its seaports. With all this, Texas became a strong nation, and the rest of the country followed step. California became the Nation of Hollywood, Most of New England became the Imperial States of America, The states surrounding Chicago, Illinois became the Industrial States of America, and the Southeast states became the Confederation of Dixie, reviving for all intents and purposes the government that lost the American Civil War eighty years beforehand. Other, smaller nations, emerged, such as the Navajo Nation, bordering the combined former states New Mexico and Arizona that turned into the nation of Arixo.  
With all these changes, no one considered themselves an American anymore. Federalism was dead. Instead, politicians seeking power sought to make their home states as powerful nations, with them in charge. Due to regional differences, the economy could no longer rely on railroad shipping. Luckily, the invention of two brothers in North Carolina at the turn of the century and the growing popularity of lighter than air craft ensured that these nations survived. The economy now relied on zeppelins to shift cargo, freight, and people. And those zeppelins, for security from pirates and other nations, relied on fighter planes. The age of flight and air piracy was born.

Others, however, are just trying to survive...


	2. Bar fights and Gulf Flights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam Turner and the crew of the Yellow Rose deal with a pub brawl and nighttime flights.

For Sam Turner, that meant that his Zep, the Yellow Rose, was his ticket to a nice life, that is, if he could keep in business and keep getting jobs. He was thirty seven, with his black hair starting to be peppered by grey, with it starting to match his eyes.  
On the bridge, he held the wheel, the ship heading to the city of Austin, for it was time to bargain and bid for a contract. Turner was an independent contractor, with nothing but his ship, but if he could get a job delivering freight to and from Austin, he and his crew would be set for life.  
Of course, that depended on making it to the city in time for the annual assigning of contracts. That had been delayed by the actions of Annabelle Travis, his chief pilot and in Sam’s opinion, the best pilot he knew. It seemed that his squadron had all been at the New Orleans pilots wet bar, and then he had received a message via radio that they were locked up at the local jail.  
After using some of the last of his poker winnings to bail them out, he asked Roger to explain what happened, as Annabelle was currently nursing a hangover and passed out in her cot.  
“We were minding our own business at the pub, enjoying a nice round of ale, though it could have been better if it was a British brew. Why Louisiana decided to keep their affiliation with France I’ll never know. The French drink is always subpar, and is never strong enough for a good enough Englishman or experienced warrior.”  
Sam, at this moment, felt the need to roll his eyes and cut in before Roger Sterling went on a tirade about the inequities of the French.  
“Roger, the bar?”  
“Oh, right, of course, sir.”  
“You see, sir. There was a rather disagreeable chap at the next table over, who seemed to dislike the fact that we had, shall we say, a non-standard crew with which we was unaccustomed to seeing in his upbringing and therefore, found it objectionable enough to comment.”  
“He insulted y’all?” Sam summed up, his Texan twang in contrast to Sterling’s Proper British accent.  
“Well, yes, at first. He seemed rather alarmed at the fact that our chief pilot was of a darker complexion than he was used to.   
“And that’s when the fighting broke out?” asked Sam, feeling he was putting the pieces together.  
I, of course, as a gentleman, wished to defend my superior officer and show him why he was in error. She, being the cooler head than I, insisted that we enjoy our drinks, and let the man be.”  
“So, did they attack you?”  
“In a way.”  
“In a way, how?”  
“Well, sir, they then attacked the fact that she was a woman. I again readied my objections, but Anna put a stop to that.”  
“So, what did start the fight?”  
“They insulted our planes, sir.”  
“They what?”  
“They insulted our planes, sir. Annabelle was keeping a cool head. Aye, you would have been proud to see her doing so, when the drunken idiot, pardon my saying so, sir, started insulting our planes. He said that the Coyotes we were flying were rubbish. Annabelle lost her cool at that point, sir, and challenged his buddies to a race.”  
“And that’s when the fight started?”  
“We then started repeated shouting at each other about whether the Bulldog could best the Coyote in a joust, sir.” Sterling summed up, his pencil thin mustache seeming to bead with a bit of sweat.  
“And then?”  
“And then they insulted the King, sir. And I busted a chair over their heads. They had it coming.”  
Sam sighed. Roger Sterling was a proper gentleman, through and through, and had been a good pilot during the war, and was quite a polite fellow at all times. But if anyone made a bad comment about his motherland or the monarchy, they were expected to lose a few teeth over it. He had a few choices on what to do about this, but he had to ensure that he didn’t get into a fight with Roger about it. The best choice was to apply to Roger’s pride.  
“Roger, we were in French Louisiana, how are we going to ever make a profit every time we make a delivery there? Are you really expecting them to recognize refinement and have proper sense in New Orleans, the place is full of French colonists. You have to be understanding about this sort of thing, Roger. After all, they aren’t Brits.”  
Roger Sterling seemed to consider this, and then smiled.  
“Of course, sir. Yes, sir. I should have understood where I was. It’ll never happen again, sir.” And with a small British salute, he about-faced and retreated out of the bridge.   
Sam ran his hands through his hair, exasperated. He would have to talk to Travis later and get her take on what happened, but in the meantime, he had a zeppelin to fly to Austin.  
*-*-*-*   
The quickest course took them over the Gulf of Mexico. During the day, one could see the waters, the algae and plant life, and the air and sea traffic that made the Republic of Texas the economic powerhouse that it is. During the night, however, one only had the stars, one’s instruments, and your own wits to guide you.  
This made detection of anyone else near you almost impossible during overcast nights. Hence the need for lights on all zeppelins to show where they were going, and to ensure that no one rammed into them in the middle of the night.   
Pirates who kept these lights off at night so as to ambush ships, were always a concern. This is why all cargo and transport zeppelins came with fixed turrets and fighter craft to protect them.  
Hence why Sam Turner was then keeping a keen eye out for any sign of trouble as he flew the ship, they would be in Austin by morning, with plenty of time to get a contract, as long as they didn’t have any incidents before crossing into Texas territory. The big problem was that Mexico and French Louisiana were acting confrontational lately about who went where. This had led to the Texas Air Rangers stepping up patrols. Sam just hoped, and sometimes prayed, that he wasn’t caught in the middle of it when things went to hell.  
However, it seemed that God wasn’t listening to his prayers when three zeppelins turn on their lights in front of him, revealing the French Foreign Air Legion colors painted on their hulls. It was an ambush, and one that he had flown right into.


End file.
